Legendary hockey reporter and analyst Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as The Hockey Maven, will share his knowledge, brand of humor and insights with readers each week.
This week, Stan takes a look at the 1939-40 New York Rangers, who had plenty of laughs on their way to the Stanley Cup.
If the NHL ever offered a prize to the team that had the most fun on its way to winning the Stanley Cup, chances are good that the 1939-40 New York Rangers would have captured the mythical trophy.
"We sure had a heck of a lot of laughs," said Frank Boucher, their first-year coach who had been the No. 1 center on New York's first two championship teams. He should know. During the 1939-40 season, Boucher enjoyed a mighty good time when he was not teaching his players a few innovative special-teams strategies that would be copied by other teams.
Boucher "was one heckuva good leader," defenseman Babe Pratt said, "and he'd prove it throughout that Cup season. He was a player's coach. Fun was part of playing in those days. Hey, we were just a block from Times Square."
Pratt, center Phil Watson and brothers Muzz Patrick and Lynn Patrick were among the Rangers who made the most of good times in between playing superior hockey in that seven-team NHL.
Muzz, a defenseman, and Lynn, a left wing, were the sons of Lester Patrick, who had run the Rangers since their inception in 1926. Lester named Boucher coach in 1939, when he opted to concentrate on his role as general manager -- and then the fun really began.
Canadian historian and author Eric Whitehead chronicled many of the 1939-40 Rangers' capers in his book "The Patricks: Hockey's Royal Family."
"There were always lots of show people around us." Muzz Patrick told Whitehead. "After games we used to go to night spots like the Cotton Club in Harlem or the Latin Quarter downtown. Movie stars like Lucille Ball and George Raft loved hockey."
MGM, one of Hollywood's biggest studios, was so intrigued with the NHL that it scripted a full-length film called "The Great Canadian." The Rangers were slated to be a big part of the flick.
The studio selected one of the biggest stars of the silver screen, Clark Gable, as the hero. Pratt and Watson were doubles for the hockey scenes. Watson would be Gable, while Pratt got the less favorable role as the movie's villain. The script inspired laughs inside the Rangers dressing room; especially after Pratt beefed about Watson's role.
"Can you imagine Phil as Clark Gable? He's not only ugly, he can't even speak good English!" snickered Pratt.
MGM eventually cancelled the movie, but that didn't stop big-name stars such as Edward G. Robinson and Lana Turner from visiting Madison Square Garden. One of Tin Pan Alley's famed songwriters, J. Fred Coots, penned "The Rangers Victory Song," which still gets an occasional airing at the Garden.
Although Boucher was their coach, many of his players had been teammates during his Hall of Fame career and viewed him as a kindred spirit. That made communication between coach and players more like a friendly schmooze.
In his autobiography, "When The Rangers Were Young," Boucher explained how he would instruct his skaters on penalty-killing innovations.
"I'd encourage suggestions," he wrote. "The boys would come up with them and then we'd practice the new ideas. One of them was the penalty-kill 'box defense,' with four players arranged in a box formation in front of the goalie.
"Another was an offensive penalty-killing combination. Instead of playing tight defensive on the PK, we went for goals. We'd send out three forwards and a defenseman and forecheck in the other team's end."
Boucher's strategies worked. Beginning on Nov. 24, 1939, the Rangers went 14-0 with five ties; that 19-game unbeaten streak remains a team record.
Although they finished second, three points behind the defending-champion Boston Bruins, during the regular season, New York disposed of Boston in a six-game Stanley Cup Semifinal series. That set the stage for the best-of 7 Cup Final against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto general manager Conn Smythe had rebuilt his team along lines similar to the Rangers. His goalie was future Hall of Famer Turk Broda, who went on to win the Stanley Cup five times. But Boucher liked his guy, Dave Kerr.
"Davey was very agile," wrote Boucher. "He could do the splits with one skate firmly anchored against one goal post and the other skate stretching to the other post.
"On top of that he had an excellent right hand that picked off shots like a baseball first baseman. He had another neat thing; he could shout at his defensemen in a commanding way but without ever offending them."
The Broda-Kerr main event was touch-and-go until Boucher's skaters took a 3-2 series lead, with Game 6 scheduled for Maple Leafs Gardens on April 13, 1940.
"There never was a team with so many strong players at every position that ever played better than the 1940 Rangers that spring," wrote Herb Goren, who covered the team for the New York Sun. "They were without a weak link."
Thanks to Boucher, they were also without a lot of the tension that would have been normal for players who were closing in on a championship.
"Frank figured that this volatile gang of his needed an extra touch, such as a pint or two with dear friends in familiar surroundings," Whitehead wrote. "Hence, the gathering of the clan in the Ford Hotel beer parlor the afternoon before Game 6."
The entire team convened, with captain Art Coulter opening proceedings with a proper toast to continued success on the next night of play. When Boucher raised his glass the players responded with an inspired "Hear, hear ..." To some it felt like the prelude to a fraternity football game; a bunch of guys all in together.
Coulter allowed that the gathering "eliminated any danger of getting uptight. Our pep meeting was a loosener if ever there was one."
The next night, Boucher's team was perhaps a bit too loose. Syl Apps scored for Toronto in the first period and Nick Metz made it 2-0 when he beat Kerr in the second. Meanwhile, Broda was flawless.
Lester Patrick decided to invade his dressing room between the second and third periods. He sat down next to Kerr and in a consummate low-key manner delivered this message: "Boys, you've had your fun. Now let's get down to business. I've made arrangements for a victory party in the Tudor Room of the Royal York Hotel. I'll see you there. Don't let me down."
At 8:08 of the third period, Alex Shibicky set up Neil Colville, who beat Broda to make it 2-1. Alf Pike converted Clint Smith's pass at 10:01 to tie the game 2-2.
The score remained tied through the rest of the third period, setting up overtime. But the fans hardly had time to return to their seats after intermission when a pass from Watson set up Bryan Hextall, who beat Broda 2:07 into OT for the Cup-winning goal. "The shot was high, clean and hard," Gene Ward wrote in the Daily News.
As promised, Lester Patrick hosted the victory party in the Tudor Room. A highlight was the sight of the three Patricks, Lester, Lynn and Muzz, with the Cup.
"That was the best team I ever saw," Boucher said more than three decades later. Thanks to Boucher, it was arguably the most laid back as well.
